Thank you for explaining about Splenda and chlorine, but I wanted to alert you how dangerous
it is for diabetics. Few human studies of safety have been published on sucralose. One small study of diabetic patients using the sweetener showed a statistically significant increase in
glycosylated hemoglobin (Hba1C), which is a marker of long-term blood glucose levels and is used to assess glycemic control in diabetic patients. According to the FDA, "increases in glycosolation in hemoglobin imply lessening of control of diabetes." So diabetics should avoid Splenda at all costs. In fact, everybody should avoid Splenda, it's a chlorocarbon poison: http://www.wnho.net/splenda_chlorocarbon.htm The company has already lost two lawsuits in Philadelphia and France, and there is now a billion dollar lawsuit in California. James Turner, Atty, and Citizens for Health have already petitioned the FDA for recall.

You mentioned some of the other sweeteners but I want you to especially know about aspartame
because embalming is against the Jewish religion and you're writing for the Jewish Times. The formaldehyde converted from the free methyl alcohol embalms living tissue and damages DNA. Here is the Trocho Study proving this point: http://www.mpwhi.com/formaldehyde_from_aspartame.pdf There is also a page on pre-embalming in the medical text, Aspartame Disease: An Ignored Epidemic, by H. J. Roberts, M.D., http://www.sunsentpress.com He discusses this is
against the Jewish faith in the medical text as well. Aspartame Disease is now a global plague. Here is a report which also shows it was never proven safe and causes cancer and contains other resources including the aspartame documentary: http://www.mpwhi.com/fda_gate.htm Aspartame has caused an epidemic of diabetes and obesity among other major epidemics from birth defects and MS to blindness and psychiatric and behavioral problems. Dr. Roberts is a diabetic specialist and says aspartame not only can precipitate diabetes but simulates and aggravates diabetic retinopathy and neuropathy, destroys the optic nerve, causes diabetics to go into convulsions and even interacts with insulin. It makes you crave carbohydrates so you gain weight as recorded in the congressional record of May, l985, Senate.

Acesulfame potassium caused cancer and leukemia in original studies. There is an article on
Tagatose on http://www.wnho.net The sugar alcohols can cause diarrhea if too much is used.

Stevia is safe if its pure and there are no additives. In Brazil they even add aspartame. Coke is now going to add a sweetener made from Stevia and has 24 patents. That's interesting since you can't patent a leaf, so it's manipulated and we know nothing about whether it's safe. It needs to be analyzed and we need to know if it's genetically engineered which is rumored.

A safe sweetener is Just Like Sugar which you can get in Whole Foods, Wild Oats or such. It's made from chicory and orange peel. Chicory has been used for 70 years to improve the health of
diabetics. http://www.justlikesugarinc.com As you probably know you can buy a kosher statement like aspartame/Equal/NutraSweet/Canderel, E951, etc. has, but shouldn't have. You would think one genocide would be enough. However in the case of Just Like Sugar the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem came to the US and gave JLS the type of kosher stamp you can't buy. I will send you that information in a separate email.

I suspect the use of aspartame is against other religious faiths as well. For instance, Jehovah's Witnesses do not smoke because of the scripture that says not to defile the
body. Embalming the body is worse, of course. Also Jehovah's Witnesses do not use blood transfusions and aspartame causes so many blood disorders from idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura to leukemia. http://www.rense.com/general70/aasp.htm

Aspartame at one time was listed with the pentagon in an inventory of prospective biochemical warfare weapons submitted to Congress. Read the prestigious Ecologist: http://www.mpwhi.com/ecologist_september_2005.pdf Why would anyone want to use such a deadly poison.

In a book written 34 years ago by Dr. Jacqueline Verrett who worked at the FDA for 15 years,
"Eating May Be Dangerous To Your Health: The Case Against Food Additives" she really exposes the FDA and the Chemical Feast of these additives. She said: "When asked why society
should tolerate any potentially dangerous additives at all in food, industry spokesman Emery C. Swanson of Swanson and Associates, which develops new food products, replied: "We are a hedonist society. People don't eat for nutritional purposes." But by law additives are suppose to be inert or non-reactive, and instead they are causing horrendous symptoms and diseases, some of which are fatal. They violate the law.

In 2004 suit was filed against Wrigley's gum because they had been told over and over again
how dangerous aspartame is in gum because its buccal. It's a drug and only masquerading additive and it works like nitroglycerin under the tongue, goes through saliva straight to the brain. Dr. Roberts wrote a paper on this having to do with
absorption. Even though they got it settled or dismissed they turned right around and put it in
all their gums but two. The cases coming from using this poison are extremely serious. In one case a man took his own life in New Zealand and others had suicidal tendencies due to the depletion of serotonin from the phenylalanine in aspartame. http://www.mpwhi.com/experts_on_aspartame_and_abby_cormack.htm Be warned. There are articles now about sorbitol gum causing diarrhea, saying use aspartame. This syndicated article no doubt was done to get more people using this deadly gum since the warning has been all over the Internet. Sugar alcohols will cause diarrhea if too much is used, but its easy to see why the article was written. Here is Dr. Roberts paper: http://www.wnho.net/aspartame_absorption.htm

Mission Possible International is a global volunteer force warning the world off aspartame mainly, but also exposing other bad additives, and researching healthful alternatives. I hope you will check out the web sites below and make sure the public has all the facts.

Splenda's popularity has set this non-nutritive sweetener apart from the others. The use of this
product continues to grow. It is ubiquitous because of its many uses. Splenda is used most
typically in diet drinks, frozen desserts, and yogurts. It is available in packets and used in
coffee and tea. In addition, it is unique in that it is heat stable and therefore can be used for baking. It is commercially used in over 4,000 products around the world.

Unfortunately there is a large misconception about Splenda. People are under the impression
that it is a natural derivative of sugar (sucrose), just calorie-free. This is in fact a fallacy sparked by ingenious advertising by the product manufacturer. Truthfully, Splenda (sucralose) is a chemically engineered calorie-free sweetener that is derived from sugar (sucrose). The sucrose molecule is altered; chlorine is added to the sugar molecule, creating a new compound. This new compound is now calorie-free because our body is unable to digest and utilize it for energy.

The biggest concern with chemically altered foods is safety. Splenda is FDA-approved for all the
above-mentioned uses; however, is that enough to accept it into our everyday diets in so many
forms? There are so many unknowns with Splenda. There is no data on the safety of ingestion over long periods of time (years) of intake. There is little data on the safety of using this product in so many forms. In addition, are there interactions between Splenda and other non-nutritive sweeteners that we know nothing about? These questions were not fully addressed in the product development study phase. The fact remains that chemically manufactured substances are not "natural" and we will not know the full extent of their safety for many years.

This concern is especially heightened with respect to children. A lot of the products that contain Splenda are being marketed to children. This includes ice cream, ice pops, canned fruits, and even orange juice. Although childhood obesity is a major concern in our country, should we be giving these products to developing children? The answer is no, not at this time. Including Splenda in the daily diets of children can prove to be detrimental in years to come. It is more
beneficial to change the eating and activity habits of our children without including chemically altered sweeteners. However, there are exceptions, as always. For example, children with diabetes may require some inclusion of sugar substitutes in order to maintain glycemic control. This is especially true at the time of diagnosis, as it can be very difficult for the child and family to adjust to the new strict dietary regimen.

There are exceptions for certain groups of adults, as well. These include:

People with diabetes who are also learning to adjust their diets or those who crave sweets and soft drinks.

People who require significant weight loss and require sweet low-calorie foods as a short-term "crutch" to help achieve their ultimate goal.

Those who have undergone gastric bypass surgery and are unable to tolerate sugar.

In the above cases, the overall health benefits outweigh the possible risks associated with Splenda. Moderate use is advised for the above, as well.

It is important for us as consumers to be discerning of the ingredients being used in "low
calorie" or "light" products and decide whether it is wise to accept synthetic ingredients as a trade-off for low calories. Perhaps we are just so accustomed to wanting "guilt free" foods that we have lost sight of the overall picture. The best solution is behavior modification. In place of light orange juice, choose to eat an orange and drink water. In place of diet soda with
Splenda, choose flavored seltzer. In place of Splenda for baking, cut the sugar in your typical
recipe in half and change your palate's expectation of sweets. If you are among the many who have incorporated Splenda into the foods you choose daily, start by substituting a natural alternative one at a time. In the long run, you may be thankful you did so.

Miriam Horowitz is a registered dietitian (American Dietetic Association) and a certified
diabetes educator (National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators). She can be reached at healthyfutures@gmail.com